Questia Media

Questia Media, Inc. operated as a commercial digital repository with a strong focus on academic materials for the humanities and social sciences. The company was founded in 1998 by Troy Williams, who served as its President & CEO. Williams, a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School, founded Questia as an early entrant into the ebook market after working in mergers and acquisitions.

The firm's primary offering was Questia, an online service providing subscription-based access to a vast collection of digital books, academic journals, magazines, and newspapers. Rather than selling ownership of digital texts, Questia's business model centered on monthly or annual subscriptions that granted users temporary access to its entire library. The target market consisted mainly of college and high school students, with the platform positioned as a resource to support research and paper writing. The collection was curated by academic librarians to ensure the credibility of the sources.

Questia's service was distinguished by its integrated research tools. The platform included features to automatically generate citations and bibliographies in various styles, and tools for users to highlight, save, and organize notes within their personal project folders. Over the years, the company expanded its offerings, launching an iPhone app in 2011, followed by an iPad app, and later adding video tutorials and quizzes to guide students through the research process. In January 2010, Questia was acquired by Gale, a part of the educational content and technology company Cengage Learning. Following the acquisition, Questia continued to operate and expand its library and tools. However, after more than two decades of operation, the service was discontinued on December 21, 2020.

Keywords: digital library, academic research, online subscription, humanities, social sciences, citation tools, Cengage, educational technology, e-journal, ebook platform